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Collections

Max von Oppenheim’s passion for collecting was awakened in his parents’ home. His travels in the Middle East initially motivated him to build a collection of contemporary arts and crafts, focused on objects of everyday life. The diversification of his research ambitions went hand in hand with the expansion of his collecting interests. This not only reflects his scientific curiosity, but also underscores his goal of documenting, through fascinating and appealing objects, as many different geographical and cultural regions of the Middle East as possible.

Oppenheim as Collector

Max von Oppenheim’s passion for collecting was awakened in his parents’ home. His travels in the Middle East initially motivated him to build a collection of contemporary arts and crafts, focused on objects of everyday life. The diversification of his research ambitions went hand in hand with the expansion of his collecting interests. This not only reflects his scientific curiosity, but also underscores his goal of documenting, through fascinating and appealing objects, as many different geographical and cultural regions of the Middle East as possible.

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Library

With over 42,000 volumes, Oppenheim’s library numbered among the largest specialist libraries of his era. Not only does its scope today reflect a collector’s passion for acquiring books spanning decades, but also Oppenheim’s ambition to cover individual thematic areas as comprehensively as possible with monographs, academic periodicals, cartographical works, newspapers, and even magazines.

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Photographic Collection

Der fotografische Nachlass Max von Oppenheims umfasst etwa 13.000 Schwarz-Weiß-Fotos, die digitalisiert und über die Bilddatenbank Arachne online verfügbar sind. Gegliedert nach Reisen, Ausgrabungen, Tell Halaf-Museum und Sonstiges können die Bilder auch ohne vorherige Anmeldung eingesehen werden.

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Manuscript Collection

Max von Oppenheim stood in the tradition of collectors whose interest in Islamic manuscripts had originated in 17th century Europe. Travelers, diplomats, and colonial officials acquired treasures of Islamic literature which eventually formed the bases of many contemporary private and public libraries in Europe.

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Cartographic Data

Oppenheim’s interest in the provinces of the Ottoman Empire not infrequently led him to remote areas where no other European had yet been seen. The careful planning for these journeys and their course are documented by records of the team accompanying him which included secretaries, architects, photographers, Bedouin guides, and soldiers or gendarmes who were always armed to protect the caravan.

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Audio Material

Max von Oppenheim’s parents fostered his love of music early on. Musical soirées and musical evenings in a sociable setting, common among the educated in the 19th century, were frequent in the Oppenheim family home. In Max’s own apartment on the Kurfürstendamm in Berlin, there was a grand piano which stood in the “music salon” furnished in a baroque ‘Oriental’ style.

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Natural Sciences

Many European explorers and scholars of the 18th and 19th centuries considered the collection and preparation of zoological, botanical, and mineralogical specimens an integral aspect of their work of discovery and study. Max von Oppenheim also wanted to make his contribution to this field of academic investigation about the world.

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Works of art

Max von Oppenheim laid the foundation for his collection of works of Islamic art in the winter of 1883 on his first trip with his uncle Alexander Engels to the west Asian region of Turkey.

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Stone Monuments

The disastrous air raids of November 1943 severely damaged the exhibition space of the Tell Halaf Museum, along with the administrative building. The fire started by a phosphorous bomb destroyed many small finds, the monumental plaster reconstructions, and parts of the Islamic collection as well. All objects made of limestone were destroyed while the basalt sculptures experienced heavy damage.

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